Posts by alicandra

Original Post by glitzerland: I don't want to starve myself.

Then why are you talking about the 2468 diet? 

You don't need to lose 15lbs. At 17 and 5'3, the minimum weight you should be is 103lbs (bear in mind, though, this takes into account your age. With every year, you're expected to grow, so this wouldn't be a weight you maintain throughout your life. The BMI minimum would be 107). You may want to lose 15lbs, but you don't need to, certainly not urgently.  You're a teen, so just eat 2000 calories a day and stay active, maybe start a new sport. You may not lose the 10lbs overnight, but it may drop off by the time you start college, and you should become more muscular, resulting in a thinner overall 'look', as muscle is denser than fat, resulting in a loss of inches instead of a loss in weight. 

People rarely try to pick me up ;) Always a slim chance I'll go feral on their asses...

The last time someone did, though, it was a male friend (who is shorter than me, and I'm willing to bet weighs less than me; I'm 5'8 and ~160lbs, I'd put him at 5'6-5'7 and 140 maybe?) and afterwards, I was quite tense, waiting for an insult about my weight/how heavy I had been to pick up, and it never came. 

It was nice not to receive a putdown, especially since I expected it so much. 

Recognising the need to change is the first step. As everyone has said, 27 is in no way too late. 

To begin with, because you have so much to lose, small changes will have big effects. For three days, write down every single food you eat. If it is an asian food without data on here, look on the packet to see if there is nutritional info, or try and calculate it individually - break down what you're eating into noodles, sauce, extras, and log them each separately.  Speak to your doctor about weight loss, and ask him to set some calorie targets. Your BMR (the calories you'd burn by staying in bed all day) is 3277, so even if you ate this with limited exercise, you would lose some weight. 

Exercise wise, could you try breaking up the amount of walking you do? The walk to work and back is great, could you also maybe add in a short walk around the block at lunchtime, and another walk around the block after work? As the weight falls off, it will get easier. 

For some extra motivation, definitely check out some of the success stories on here! Also, check out some weight loss blogs - one that immediately came to mind was skinny emmie (http://skinnyemmie.com/), who's in her 20s, and has lost almost 100lbs so far, going from a starting weight of 455. Or Stephen (http://www.whoatemyblog.com/) who's gone from 632lbs to 482. All very inspiring, and proof that it CAN be done!

Hey all! I'd love to join in this challenge! I'm 19 years old, from the UK, and I'm 5'8. I would ideally love to lose around 20lbs by March, but I've hit a major plateau for the last, hmm, year? So we shall see! Just losing 10lbs would be a fantastic achievement, especially if I can improve my fitness in the process!

I'll officially weigh in tomorrow, as I don't have access to a scale right now, but I'm hovering above or below 160lbs.

Start Weight - ~160

Goal For New Year's Day - 160 (Maintenance over Christmas! Fingers crossed!)

Goal For Mum's Birthday (18 Jan) - 156

Goal For Valentines - 152 (under 11 stone!)

Goal For Brother's Birthday (5 March) - 145

Goal For 15 March - 140!!! (Goals may be adjusted if the plateau continues). 

Oops! I missed out on last week due to illness - I've been diagnosed with sinusitis, and it's playing havoc with my exercise routine and eating habits, as I've had to stop running (impact activities make my head and teeth hurt) and have been on a mostly liquid diet (chewing makes my face hurt). I am down 2lbs, but I assume that's from barely eating, and I expect these 2lbs to come back on as soon as I'm able to eat 'normally' (aka 1500 calories) again. 

START     Oct 24-30:162
Week 1.   Oct 31-Nov 6: 163
Week 2.   Nov 7-13: 161
Week 3.   Nov14-20:160
Week 4.   Nov 21-27: 159
Week 5.   Nov 28-Dec 4: (missed out)
Week 6.   Dec 5-11: 157
Week 7.   Dec 12-18:
Week 8.   Dec 19-25:
Week 9.   Dec 26- Jan 1:
FINISH.   Jan 2-8: 

Original Post by schmoozerandlose:

WEEK 5: SWEETS FOR THE SWEET!

This week's challenge is to tell everyone how you plan to deal with all those temptations? Do you limit yourself? Dive right in and make up for it later? Maybe you have a special 'lite' treat that you have at this time of year instead of all those calorie-laden choices. 

PS - How are those exercise promises going? How do you plan on keeping them going with all that is coming up over the next few weeks? I'm asking because I am having a tough time staying with it!

I have 300 calories a day set aside for treats and sweets. If I deprive myself, I'll only come back and want even more!

This is going to sound silly, but I've been challenging myself to take 2 'rest days' off exercise in a row, once a month. I love the way exercise makes me feel, but I've got to the stage where the thought of a day off makes me feel ill, and the thought of two is incomprehensible. I'm trying to regain a relaxed attitude to exercise, where I'm neither dependent nor lax, because its really not worth that much stress!

Original Post by personaltrainer87:
All I can say is that I am going to research, and want to learn more about IF there is an EXACT number you maintain on ( is it really a matter of  1566 calories,  or does that mean that 1520 - 1570 would have exactly the same affect in terms of your weight on the scale?)

You shouldn't be maintaining on 1566 calories, either way. 

1. BMR is inaccurate. It's a guess. Chances are, your personal BMR will not be exactly 1566 calories. 

2. To calculate maintenance calories, you are meant to factor in how active you are. You've spoken in the past about your love of the gym and pilates, so would be considered moderately active. http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalc alc.htm According to this calculator, you should be eating around 2000 calories to maintain, not 1500. 

3. Given your ED history, you really should be aiming to eat around that 2000 calorie mark to maintain. This may mean that you gain a few lbs, but it would be worth it for your body. Remember, of your BMR (excluding the activity);

-The heart needs 12% of the calories
-The kidney needs 12% of the calories
-The Liver needs 23% of the calories 
-The brain needs 23% of the calories 
-The skeletal muscle needs 30% of the calories

So think of the years of deprivation your body went through with the ED. It deserves enough food to keep the organs healthy.

4. Even if you had your BMR calculated to be 100% accurate on one day, the next day your activities will not be the exact same, So there's never going to be an amount pinpointed to the calorie at which you can maintain, it would be more of a range. 

5. There is more to be factored in to weight loss/gain than just the calories you eat and expend. Sodium intake/Water intake/TOTM all affect weight, and can affect it quite drastically (I'm talking 5 or 6lbs), so worrying about so little calories is illogical. 

I'm glad to hear you're feeling better about it now!

Have you got a 'plan' for Christmas, rj? Though the occasional 'higher cal' day won't ruin your weight loss, there is a difference in bingeing and upping cals. The main problems with bingeing are that it is addictive and can ruin your confidence. If you eat enough to feel guilty about it, it can start a vicious circle - you feel worthless because you haven't stuck to plan, so you get upset, so you comfort eat, so you feel worthless. I've been there, it's not a fun place to be. 

Higher calorie days are planned in advance. You're not losing control, you're allowing yourself to have a relaxed day without going overboard.  Holiday season is tough for everyone - so many temptations! In England, we haven't even had a holiday yet this winter, yet I've been putting in one Higher Calorie Day a week, just to help with the winter chill.  

What I'm trying to say (in a very long winded way) is that, for the Christmas season, you need to factor in higher calorie days, BUT you need to stay in control! It is your body, so you have the ability to plan what you're going to put into it. Your BMR is approximately 2144, and even if you're entirely sedentary you'll burn 2500 in a day. So, for Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/Boxing Day, plan to eat 2500-3000. Have those extra 500-1000 calories, and savour them.  Try a little of everything, but in small portions, and once you've finished one plate, try not to go back for seconds. If possible, why not wrap up warm and see if any family members will go on a walk with you? In our family, it's tradition to go on a two hour walk along the beach on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It's a great way to burn some calories, and keep away from the piles of snacks that seem to mount up over the Christmas week!!

Another useful piece of advice for Christmas Dinner is to try and eat slowly. I always notice that I start shovelling down my food, as if someone's going to steal it! Take a moment between mouthfuls to put your cutlery down and talk to someone. It takes 20 minutes for the body to recognise it's full, so give it some time to catch up!

I'm not in a financial position where I can afford a BA right now (student! woo!) but it is something I'm interested in for the future, and I did worry about the exercise side of things. I usually run 5x a week, plus weights training etc, so its a relief to hear people getting back to exercise within 2-6 weeks - someone told me it would be 2-6 months!